October 2020 by The Affair Magazine

CURRENT AFFAIRS IN A WAY YOU'LL LOVE

OCTOBER 2020

SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS

VOL 1 // ISSUE 4

OPINION: 4TH WAVE FEMINISM

THE IMPORTANCE OF REDUCING YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

YOUR GUIDE TO BLOCKCHAIN + CRYPTOCURRENCY

SCIENCE BEHIND SCARES

Sahithi Lingampalli

Shivanshi Sharma

Pahel Srivastava

founder tech co-director

vice executive politics director

vice executive art co-director

Vrinda Gandhi

Taruni Manam

vice executive layout co-director

vice executive lifestyle director

Claire Sakurauchi public relations co-director

Aathmika Radhachandran

Harvi Karatha

Uday Lingampalli

public relations co-director

editing co-director

Shabdika Gubba

Kavya Gurunath

Cindy Zhang

science director podcast director

science co-director

opinion co-director

Alison Ye layout co-director

meet the directors Kanika Choudhary

@theaffairmag theaffairmag@gmail.com

finances director

Riona Carrington opinions co-director

Manushri Bapat

Yaj Jhajhria

Shrawani Pradhan

art co-director

podcast co-director

communications director

meet the staff

everyone who helped with issue 4!

WRITERS: Abigail Romero Archini Desai Ashmita Annamalai Catherine Rasgaitis Ciara Balanzá Cindy Zhang Ethan Brown Giuliana Calé Inchara J Kaushik Vada Kavya Gurunath Manushri Bapat Maya Krolik Neve Walker Nivi Chozhan Riona Carrington Sahithi Lingampalli Sanjna Mootakoduru Shivanshi Sharma Shrawani Pradhan Uday Lingampalli Yaj Jhajhria

EDITORS: Arushi Patil Elizabeth Wu Harvi Karatha Kavya Gurunath Manushri Bapat Riona Carrington Sahithi Lingampalli Samita Pandit Shabdika Gubba Shivanshi Sharma Taruni Manam Uday Lingampalli ARTISTS: Evelyn Chen Hala Abelqader Pahel Srivastava Sahithi Lingampalli Sanjna Mootakoduru Sharon Pan

PODCAST: Arabi Mahanujam Nivi Chozhan Shrawani Pradhan Shreya Goel Yaj Jhajhria LAYOUT DESIGNERS:

Aathmika Radhachandran Alison Ye Claire Sakurauchi Inchara J Nivi Chozhan Sahithi Lingampalli Tristan Castro Vrinda Gandhi PUBLIC RELATIONS: Aathmika Radhachandran Claire Sakurauchi Manushri Bapat Nivi Chozhan Sahithi Lingampalli Vrinda Gandhi

contents

CONTENTS

ARTS

THE MODERN AESTHETIC

53 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF COVID19

PHILOSOPHY OF ART

57 LIFESTYLE

FIRST LADY'S SHINING MOMENT

59 THE IMPORTANCE OF REDUCING

POLITICS

SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS

BREONNA TAYLOR DECISION

FOUR WOMEN CHANGING CALIFORNIA'S POLITICS

ARMENIA - AZERBAIJAN WAR

TECH

BLOCKCHAIN & CRYTOCURRENCY

FLY THE GREENER SKIES

MINI WIND TURBINES

DECENTRALIZING THE INSULIN INDUSTRY

TECHNOLOGY FOR ADULTS WITH AUTISM

SCIENCE

SCIENCE BEHIND SCARES

EARTH MAY BE RECEIVING A MINI

YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT 61 HOW TO LEAD A CARBON NEUTRAL LIFE 63 MONTRÃ&#x2030;AL STYLE BAGELS RECIPE 65 GETTING INTO THE COLLEGE MINDSET 67 OPINION 69 DO YOU SUPPORT 4TH-WAVE FEMINISM? WHY OR WHY NOT? 73 CURRICULUM FOR MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 77 BLM VS BLUE LIVES MATTER 81 G4M3 P14N35 83 YOUTH FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM

MOON 49

WHEN THE ANSWER COMES IN A DREAM . . .

ARTS NYCxDESIGN Festival October 2020

Asia Society Museum Triennial October 27 - June 27, 2021

Dallas Art Fair October 1-4

Bienal de SÃ£o Paulo, Brazil October 3 December 13

TEFAF, New York October 30 November 4

HEADLINES WE COULDN'T COVER 5

MODERN AESTHETIC: COLLAGES AND DIGITAL ART page 7 - 10

WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF ART?

pages 11 - 12

FIRST LADY'S SHINING MOMENT

pages 13-15

The word “aesthetic” has risen in popularity—the niche memes, artsy outfits, and film photography have added a cinematic feel to the word. This society of aesthetics is deeply intertwined with art and creativity; with trends such as fashion serving as a gateway for self-expression. With the glaringly obvious popularity of various styles of “aesthetic” (i.e. skater girl/boy, y2k, retro, vintage, etc), several subdivisions in art and their creation have taken over. A more freestyle

method of art has peaked: this has become more mainstream through social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok. The internet has branched into a showcase for various outfits and artworks, which has given way to a major shift in the way that art mediums and styles are used. Digital platforms such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator Draw, and Procreate have aided collages and digital art in becoming more “mainstream.”

Digital platforms like Adobe Photoshop have really helped carefree art mediums become more popular.

MODERN AESTHETIC: COLLAGES & DIGITAL ART 7

by manushri bapat edited by uday lingampalli, harvi karatha layout by vrinda gandhi

art by sharon pan

These expressive art forms have spiked in usage throughout the 21st century, but they stem from times dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Regardless of the original purpose of the various art pieces created in the styles of art similar to today, most have reflected deep emotion—typically in response to a political or societal catalyst. Art created after World War II was apparent in this: artists used bold colors, clear shapes, and a jumble of patterns to characterize their feelings towards the rest of the world.

Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” (1937) was created in response to the horrors of the Spanish Civil War.

On the other hand, similar to today’s realm of art culture, some historic “abstract” art served as a defining characteristic of the time period. One very “iconic” example of this is Andy Warhol’s various pop art forms—his style became a notorious definition of the 1960-1980 era (in terms of art). In today’s more modern approach in recreating these

pieces, artists and creators have integrated mixed media such as photographs, newspaper clippings, poetry, and bright colors with patterns onto digital canvases. Today’s versions of this art style serve as a direct reflection on the current social, political, and global crises and/or struggles, with many acting as a satire of sorts in order to bring light to a particular issue.

Collages by Ben Lewis Giles (2017 and 2020 respectively) These collages communicate different ideas: one attempts to recreate a “utopia” by meshing retro and futuristic art. The other speaks out against political issues.

Modern “aesthetic” art is something that will continue to develop and change over time; as our modern world evolves by the minute, art remains a constant escape for people to be able to express themselves. Abstract and more expressional art, such as collages, have sustained popularity for so long because we, as a society, find the communicative ability—the power it wields—irresistible.

A cover of “novum,” a long-lasting arts magazine

Andy Warhol’s “Brooklyn Bridge” (1983) utilizes an art style that has many modern-day reflections.

What is the philosophy of art? First of all, it’s important to understand and distinguish the concept of the two words, philosophy and art. In literal terms, philosophy is the “love of wisdom.” Therefore, philosophy can be defined as the thirst for wisdom and knowledge, often accompanied by the feeling of doubt or wonder. As for art, it can be defined as the creation of something meaningful using one’s imagination. Consequently, the philosophy of art is the study of the nature of art which has the objective of understanding the artistic concept.

Furthermore, the job of a philosopher of art is to question and examine the basic artistic concepts to reach a conclusion about art, aesthetic values, and expression. This practice is accompanied by thousands of inquiries. As expected, one of the largest and earliest inquiries in this area of study is the definition of art.

what what

philoso philoso As stated above, art can be defined as the creation of something through a person’s creativity. However, there have been numerous theories over the years as to what is art. One aspect that they all have in common is the idea that art is something made by a human being. Hence, a waterfall or the stars shining in the night sky can be the most beautiful thing in the world but cannot be considered art because they weren’t made by human hands.

That being said, it’s clear that this definition is rather vague. Therefore, a distinction was made between fine art and useful art. Fine art is all that is created with the sole intention of causing an aesthetic pleasure, such as paintings, sculptures, poems, etc. On the other hand, useful art consists of inventions with the primary objective of a useful function that can also be admired for their aesthetic dimension, such as cars, buildings, furniture, etc.

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by Giuliana CalĂŠ edited by Taruni Manam, Manushri Bapat layout by Inchara J. art by Sanjna Mootakoduru Through these analyses and evaluations, philosophers were able to come up with a concept called The Mediums of Art. This concept is based on three items to consider regarding every single work of art. They are: the creation of the artwork; the final piece obtained; and the effect it has on its viewers. This was a way of facilitating the observation and interpretation of art for critics and casual art lovers.

This tool was of extreme importance to the philosophy of art. Due to The Mediums of Art, philosophers were able to understand the expression, meaning, form, interpretation and many other fundamental elements of art. Thanks to this philosophical concept, society was able to unravel various outstanding pieces of art, like the tragedies present in Romeo and Juliet, or the mystery behind the Mona Lisaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smile, or the passion behind The Birth of Venus. So next time you come across a piece of art, do as our fellow philosophers and examine it a little deeper.

A FIRST LADY'S

shining moment BY ARCHINI DESAI

eside every well-regarded and appreciated U.S. President stands a strong, prominent first lady. A first lady with her own morals, goals, and tribulations, whether or not they coincide with that of her partner. Her presence is often overlooked, yet she works vigorously behind the scenes while bearing unconventional roles along the way. Contrary to her lack of recognition, renowned presidential exhibits and museums span the country in remembrance of her partner’s life. Now, the tides have begun to shift, with 250 years of first ladies being represented in The

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibit (Cohn, 2020). The exhibit, appropriately named “Every Eye is Upon Me: The First Ladies of the United States,” highlights the lives and achievements of influential women ranging from Martha Washington to Melania Trump (Smithsonian, 2020). The exhibit covers extensive collections of portraits, sculptures,

photographs, videos, and various commentaries from the National First Ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Library, the White House, and the State Department. Various pieces of clothing worn and created by first ladies, such as Jacequeline Kennedy, Nancy Regan, Michelle Obama, and Mary Todd Lincon, will also be on display (Cohn, 2020). Two of the most significant pieces, Michelle Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notable portrait gown and a dress made for Mary Lincoln by her Elizabeth Keckley, a seamstress and companion of Mrs. Lincoln, are considered to be highlights of this sector (Smithsonian, 2020). Major contributors to the collection include Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw and Annie Leibovitz (Smithsonian, 2020).

Everyone involved hoped that the curated pieces of media and art would reflect the differing circumstances through which each of these first ladies lived. All of the women were a part of the White House during starkly contrasting time periods and through which our country has progressed.

Similarly, the Smithsonian and partnering organizations see this exhibit as an opportunity to truly show the uniqueness of each first lady and to spread more knowledge on how instrumental they were throughout their time in the White House. Challenges they faced, contributions they made, and differences in their character are instrumental to setting these women apart from each other (Smithsonian, 2020). Each first lady is her own person with some choosing to focus more heavily on their husband’s campaign, like Sarah Polk, and others carving different paths away from public visibility, such as Pat Nixon (National Portrait Gallery, n.d.).

“Every Eye is Upon Me” is one phase of the Smithsonian’s ongoing mission to recognize the role of women in US History and will be coupled with extensive educational tools through literature with future exhibits and museums dedicated to amazing historical figures.

edited by Taruni Manam, Harvi Karatha, Manushri Bapat art by Sahithi Lingampalli layout by Claire Sakurauchi

REFERENCES MODERN AESTHETIC: COLLAGES AND DIGITAL ART

Coron, T. (2020). The best digital art software for creatives in 2020. Creative Bloq. Retrieved from: https://www.creativebloq.com/advice/the-best-software-for-digital-artists Evans, JB. (2016). Retro-Futuristic Magazine Collage Art by Ben Giles. Format. Retrieved from: https://www.format.com/magazine/galleries/art/ben-giles-collage-art-portfolio? utm_source=Format%20Magazine&utm_campaign=7ef03dbf93formatmag_newsletter_2016_10_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_aebd9a4403-7ef03dbf93-101559637 Julian, J. (2017). Pablo Picasso's 'Guernica': A Symbol Against War. Culture Trip. Retrieved from: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/pablo-picassos-guernica-a-symbol-against-war/ Velarde, O. (2018). 12 of the best Creative Art and Design magazines from around the world to inspire your own creations. Freepikcompany. Retrieved from: https://www.freepik.com/blog/12-creative-magazines/

A FIRST LADY'S SHINING MOMENT Cohn, G. (2020, September 29). National Portrait Gallery Show to Bring First Ladies into Focus. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/arts/design/national-portrait-gallery-first-ladies.html Smithsonian. (2020). First Ladies - Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved from: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/first-ladies-national-portrait-gallery/OAJS1lr5txbLJQ?hl=en Smithsonian. (2020, September 29). National Portrait Gallery Presents Major Exhibition "Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States". Smithsonian. Retrieved from: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-portrait-gallery-presents-major-exhibition-every-eye-uponme-first-ladies

politics Supreme Court Nominations

Armenia Azerbaijan Conflict 17

Breonna Taylor Decision

How 4 Women related to UC Berkeley changed Calfornia's Politics

Supreme Court Nomination

Breonna Taylor Decision

pages 19 - 20

pages 21 - 22

How Four Women Related to UC Berkeley Changed California's Politics

pages 23- 24

Why the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Isn't Just About Them pages 25 - 27 18

The Supreme Court

On September 18, 2020, the United States of America was moved by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an icon for women around the world. Justice Ginsburgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passing also ignited a debate as to who would replace her on the Supreme Court. The presidential elections in the U.S. are just around the corner. Given that the President chooses who will be seated on the Supreme Court, the country is in a state of confusion as to whether President Donald Trump or the person elected on November 3 will choose. Despite which person each administration would choose to be seated in the Supreme Court, the process of seating someone on the Supreme Court will remain the same and is important to understand.

The United States government is divided into three branches: the Legislative branch, the Judicial branch, and the Executive branch. The Supreme Court and its justices are part of the Judicial Branch, and therefore, only the Legislative and Executive branches have a say as to who the Supreme Court consists of. The Supreme Court consists of nine Supreme Court Justices. Once a Justice is seated on the Supreme Court, they are not removed from their position until they retire or pass away. The Consitution the United

States of America does not specify any characteristics that a Supreme Court Justice should have, such as those relating to gender, education, profession, or place of birth. A Justice does not even need to be a lawyer or have gone to law school, which was the case for many of the justices in the 1700s and 1800s: there were not many law schools in the country back then. The President of the United States nominates someone to be on the Supreme Court once there is a vacant spot, but their nomination still needs to be confirmed by the Senate. Therefore, before revealing who the President announces as their nomination, they usually converse with many Senators to figure out whether their nomination will be confirmed by the Senate or not. Once the President declares their nomination, their nomination gets sent to one of the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s numerous committees, the Judiciary committee. The committee usually takes a month to consider the nominee, by gathering records from the FBI and other sources. During this time, the nominee usually prepares for their upcoming hearing. After a month, the Judiciary committee holds a hearing in which witnesses that support and oppose the nominee state why they do so. enators in the committee will also have an opportunity to ask the nominee about

Nomination Process their beliefs and qualifications. After the hearing, the committee sends their recommendation as to whether they believe that the nominee should be confirmed or rejected to the Senate. Sometimes, they have no recommendation. Then, the entire Senate debates the nominee. Before 2017, the Senate used to allow a practice called filibustering, which allowed unlimited debate. To end the debate, 60 senators needed to vote for it. However, filibustering is an incredibly frustrating and time consuming process, and therefore, the Senate changed this rule. Now, only 51 senators need to vote to end the debate, which is known as the nuclear option. After the debate ends, the he Senate votes on the nominee. A simple majority, 51 votes, is required to confirm the nominee. If there is a tie (50-50), the Vice President, who presides over the Senate, will vote. If the nominee is confirmed, they will become the newest Supreme Court Justice. This entire process takes about 2-3 months.

Presidential elections are coming up very soon in the United States. Many people believe that the sitting president, President Donald Trump, should get to nominate the next Supreme Court Justice, while others believe that the winner of the upcoming election should nominate a candidate. Supreme Court Justices hold a lot of power and are very influential in the United States of America. Although our President and Senate nominate and confirm our Supreme Court Justices, we elect our President and Senators, so the power of our vote must not be forgotten.

By Shivanshi Sharma, Neve Walker

Art By Sanjna Mootakoduru Edited by Uday Lingampalli, Harvi Karatha

Layout By Nivi Chozhan

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Black ER wrongfully rug ring. A was killed, s Glover, a Louisville supplying as being igation in ves linked ho used it or’s family nvolved in her said, “I that life. where to e isn't that

Kenneth Walker, Breonna’s current boyfriend at the time, was with her on March 13, 2020, when she died. Walker reported that he and Breonna heard banging on the front door and assumed it was Glover. They both walked towards the door; Walker with his legally owned firearm. As they approached the door, the door flew off its hinges. Shocked at this turn of events, Walker shot his gun once. The police, who were out of uniform, fired back 20 times. Breonna Taylor was shot, and killed as they did so. Walker was arrested and charged for attempted murder for allegedly shooting one of the officers who opened fire in Taylor’s apartment. As the Black Lives Matter movement became a lot more popular after the death of George Floyd, Americans started remembering and talking about the other Black people who were wrongfully killed by the police, Breonna’s name being one of them. Chants of “No justice, no peace!” echoed through among Americans.

Despite the cries for justice, Breonna’s case did not receive the outcome it deserved. A grand jury indicted a former Louisville police officer for wanton endangerment (wrongful and reckless endangerment) for his actions that night, and he pleaded not guilty. The other two police officers who fired shots faced no charges. None of the officers present that night were charged with causing her death. This result has caused a huge uproar in the media and has gained the attention of most of the world, including famous celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez, and Cardi B, and politicians like Kamala Harris, a senator from California, who says that Breonna’s life was “horrifically” taken by police officers. Cries for justice resulted in several movements like #SayHerName, which actively brought awareness to Black women who face similar situations. The Breonna Taylor case may not have received the outcome we hoped, but the cries for justice are still louder than ever.

HOW FOUR WOMEN RELA

Everyone knows California. It’s the golden state. With Los Angeles as the harbor for celebrities at the famous Hollywood to San Francisco dragging scholars to gawk at technology, California really is an impressive state. California really is a diverse place… especially for all races and genders. Many events in California’s past have shaped it to be what it is today, - the home of nearly 39.5 million people. One of these events was the voting poll on November 5th, 1918. Let’s position ourselves on November 5, 1918. Seven years prior, women had won suffrage- the right to vote- but only in California. Women have been oppressed for a while, but luckily, ladies in California knew how to fight and what they were fighting for. And they did it in the nick of time, too. Four women won this election, and the political thinking inspired by these females not only spread through the state but throughout the nation as well.

CHANGED CALIFOR

BY INCHARA J | EDITED BY UDAY LINGA SHARMA | LAYOUT BY ALIS These four women, Esto Broughton, Grace Dorris, Elizabeth Hughes, and Anna Saylor, revolutionized politics forever. All with UC Berkeley ties, these girls, who had initially planned to lead normal lives, rapidly established a unique political influence upon this nation. They faced lots of jurisdiction and degradement, but they didn’t allow that to stop them from placing their mark on the male-biased nation they lived in. Esto Broughton, a graduate, lawyer, and journalist was selected into the California state legislature. This was something practically unheard of at the time. Another thing that added to the fire was that she had graduated from UC Berkeley. Which is one of the most prestigious public schools as of today. She was one of the first four women that begin to change politics.

When the majority of the nation voted for women to have proper voting rights, it placed women equal with men and created an unforgettable moment of equality.

ATED TO UC BERKELEY

RNIA'S POLITICS

AMPALLI, KAVYA GURUNATH, SHIVANSHI SON YE | ART BY SHARON PAN Grace Dorris, a woman who had run solely for her husband, who had gone to war, was described as a weak and frail lady. Suffrage for women is a topic sore for those in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Back to these women, though. Not much was documented about these women’s achievements, since journalists were extremely skeptical of these political figures, and probably deemed them unworthy of a newspaper article. What one does know is that these women raised the bar for other women. When the women’s suffrage referendum was approved by 50.7% of the people, it showed the opinion of the people and how women could really make a change in the nation. For those who don’t know, the women’s suffrage referendum is a voting event that took place in Colorado in 1893.

Women, depicted as frail and delicate, have become more and more prominent in politics. Take Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, and others as examples. Both prominent female figures wouldn’t be where they are now if it weren’t for the influence of women before them. But we are changing. Earlier, nobody wanted women to have the right to vote. Now that they do, many people in our nation and world are blind-sighted and believe that we have established equality for all, but the gap between women and men is still there. This nation still has not elected a female president, and there are few positions for women as one becomes more and more successful. Yet society is finally evolving mentally, becoming less sexist and more open to every gender and sexuality. Humanity isn’t quite there yet but if mankind puts a tiny bit more effort into the art of acceptance, the world could really be a more harmonious place. Whether it be accepting more women or more persons of color, or someone’s sexual orientation, humanity is one step closer to equality and once mankind gets there--we’ll see many more people like these legendary women.

Amongst most of our readers, the nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan are not likely to have received a lot of attention. Chances are that some of you might not have known one or both of them even existed. Even more so goes for Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous piece of terrain in the South Caucasus roughly the size and shape of Delaware. Yet, after all of this year’s tension and conflict, the first armed conflict to begin in 2020 is not over natural resources, not in the Middle East or Europe, and not involving any great powers: instead, it is between these two Caucasian nations over this small area of land.

On September 27, Armenia alleged that Azerbaijan’s military bombed civilian settlements in NagornoKarabakh and claimed to have retaliated by shooting down Azerbaijani aircraft. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan asserts that they launched a “counteroffensive to suppress Armenia’s combat activity and ensure the safety of the population”. [1] There have been many casualties and fatalities on both sides, including soldiers and civilians. Leaders from both nations have only increased tensions with their nationalistic promises to win at any cost.Yet, to understand the cause of this violence and why these countries even care about the land in the first place, we must rewind to the establishment of these countries. While this may seem like an ethnic conflict between two small nations on paper, reality indicates that there may be larger powers at play here.

This conflict stems from the difference between the predominantly Christian Armenian ethnic group and the mostly Muslim Azerbaijanis in the region.

In the 1920s, when all of the land in the region was part of the Soviet Union and governed by Stalin from faraway Moscow, he made a mistake. [2] Most of the land in the South Caucasus was split according to ethnic populations, but NagornoKarabakh, with an Armenian population, was inexplicably marked as Azerbaijani territory. However, this never proved to be an issue due to the total Soviet control over the area. It was only in 1988, during the breakup of the USSR, that tensions arose when the people of Nagorno-Karabakh passed a legislature outlining its wish to leave Azerbaijan and become part of Armenia. After this wish was ignored, they declared independence a few years later, triggering a full-scale war between the two now-sovereign states trying to take control of their land. [3] This turned out to be extremely destructive, killing thirty thousand over the course of six years and causing a massive refugee crisis, but it resulted in an Armenian military victory. It also resulted in the creation of the mostly unrecognized Republic of Artsakh that still maintains de facto control over Nagorno-Karabakh and some surrounding areas as essentially a puppet state of Armenia. [4]

While Russia (an ever-present force in the region even after the USSR’s collapse) mediated a ceasefire agreement with both nations to end the war, skirmishes have continued over the land. Armenia sees it as the land of its people being occupied by a hostile force; while Azerbaijan sees Armenia’s desire to occupy the land as a threat to their national security, and the region’s relative autonomy and Armenian control as a threat to their sovereignty. Since the war, diplomatic efforts from the United States, France, and Russia have kept the situation from intensifying, but also have failed to de-escalate the existing tensions between the nations. The populations of both are extremely passionate about this issue, so much so that in 1997, when Armenia’s then-president intended to partially retreat troops from the land surrounding NagornoKarabakh, his own government overthrew him. With the exception of a four-day skirmish in 2016 that killed 350 people, however, things have mostly remained calm in the region. [5] That is, until last month.

Though the incident made headlines in late September, this year’s fighting begins in July and featured Armenia’s killing of seven Azerbaijani soldiers, including one well-known military general.[6] Perhaps most interestingly, however, is how Turkey followed this up by conducting two weeks of military training with Azerbaijan, seemingly as a display of power and solidarity with Azerbaijan. This was confirmed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a statement earlier this month, after the conflict flared up and received international attention. [7] The facts show that Turkey is going all-in for supporting Azerbaijan during this time. They have been using Turkish drones in airstrikes and allegedly are providing Syrian fighters to fight on the Azerbaijani side of the war, recruited as “contractors”. The justification for Turkey’s seemingly unreasonable decision to support Azerbaijan in a conflict like this could be because of closer ethnic ties with the Azerbaijanis or the beneficial weapons-gas trade between the two countries, but the ulterior motive here is likely neither.Erdoğan is a far-right nationalist, and he has expressed a great desire to make Turkey claim its rightful spot as one of the greatest powers in the world. In order for this to happen, it would need to expand its sphere of influence.

The South Caucuses have generally been considered Russia’s backyard since the breakup of the Soviet Union, but Turkey is currently taking advantage of Russia’s decision to act as a neutral third party. Erdoğan knows that involvement leads to influence at the negotiating tables later on, and he sees this as an opportunity to have greater leverage in a valuable area of the world. Yet as Turkey makes these calculated moves, it in no way gives a second thought to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. By promoting a military rather than a diplomatic solution, Erdoğan puts many more civilians in the line of gunfire, tearing families apart and creating a greater refugee problem for Eurasia. Even though another Russianmediated ceasefire came into effect on October 10, all involved parties have essentially ignored it, and every day it looks more and more like this may definitively become a war. Already thousands of people have died in just three weeks, and nobody knows what the results of a multi-year conflict might be. But right now, what each side fails to see while blinded by their rage, arrogance, and greed is there is no benefit to be gained from fueling the fire, especially right now. Because if this is to end as it did 26 years ago, then I fear to see what is to come 26 years from now.

References Supreme Court Nomination

Georgetown Law. (2019). Nomination & Confirmation Process. Georgetown Law. Retrieved from: https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=365722&p=2471070 Supreme Court of the United States. (2020). FAQs - General Information. Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx#:~:text=The%20President%20nominates%20someone%20for,qualificati ons%20to%20be%20a%20Justice%3F

Breonna Taylor Decision

Oppel Jr., R.A., Taylor, D.B., & Bogel-Burroughs, N. (2020). What We Know About Breonna Taylor’s Case and Death. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html Chavez, N. (2020). These are the people at the center of the Breonna Taylor case. CNN. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/us/breonna-taylor-case-people/index.html Moghe, S. (2020). Inside Breonna Taylor's apartment, and why police homed in on it. CNN. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/11/us/breonna-taylor-police-documents/index.html Read, B. (2020). What We Know About the Killing of Breonna Taylor. The Cut. Retrieved from: https://www.thecut.com/2020/09/breonna-taylor-louisville-shooting-police-what-we-know.html

How Four Women Related to UC Berkeley Changed California's Politics

Lempinen, E. (2020) Four women with UC Berkeley ties changed California politics forever. UC Berkeley. Retrieved from: https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/10/02/four-women-with-uc-berkeley-ties-changed-california-politicsforever/

Why the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Isn't Just About Them Al Jazeera. (September 27, 2020). Fighting erupts between Armenia, Azerbaijan over disputed region. Al Jazeera News. Retrieved from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/27/heavy-fighting-erupts-in-disputed-nagorno-karabakh-region Ward, A. (October 7, 2020). The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, explained. Vox. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/21502327/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-war-explained Autonomous Region of Nagorny Karabakh. (February 20, 1988). Resolution by the Soviet of the Autonomous Region of Nagorny Karabakh requesting incorporation into the Armenian SSR. Retrieved from: http://www.mountainous-karabakh.org/documents/nk_soviet_1988_2_20.html Efron, S. (May 17, 1994). Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree to a Cease-Fire : Caucasus: Moscow brokers truce in former Soviet Union’s longest-running conflict. But fighting continues. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-17-mn-58811-story.html Jarosiewicz, A., Falkowski M. (June 4, 2016). The four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Centre for Eastern Studies. Retrieved from: https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2016-04-06/four-day-war-nagorno-karabakh RFE/RL. (July 14, 2020). Eleven Soldiers Killed In Third Day Of Armenia-Azerbaijan Clashes. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved from: https://www.rferl.org/a/calls-for-restraint-after-deadly-armenia-azerbaijan-border-clashes/30725069.html Gauthier-Villars, D., Simmons, A. (October 2, 2020). Turkey’s Foray Into Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Tests Russia’s Influence. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkeys-foray-into-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-tests-russias-influence11601656026

TECH iPhone 12 Release! Apple releases the iPhone 12, coming with 5G!

iOS 14 Release!

Fake News - Voting

Apple also released it's newest iOS, with lots and lots of new features!

Facebook had to remove over 120,000 posts that attempted to obstruct voting!

Tesla Warranty Drop

Curiosity Drills

Drive a Mario Kart!

Tesla drops the warranty limit from 4 years to 1, or 10,000 miles, whatever comes first.

NASA Curiosity rover accidentally drilled a little to far â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and cracked Mars' rock.

You can soon drive a real life Mario Kart with your Nintendo Switch!

HEADLINES WE COULDN'T COVER 29

CODEFYCS: BLOCKCHAIN & CRYTOCURRENCY

PAGE 31 - 32

AIRBUS INTRODUCES NEW AIRCRAFT PROGRAM page 33 - 34 MINI WIND TURBINES: THE FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY? page 35 - 36 DECENTRALIZING THE INSULIN INDUSTRY page 37 - 38 YALE RESEARCHERS DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY FOR ADULTS WITH AUTISM page 39 - 41 30

CODEFYCS PRESENTS...

BLOCKCHAIN & C

BY CATHERINE RASGAITIS | EDITED, ART, & LA Blockchain is arguably the most important technology shaping the world of business and finance today. Bitcoin in particular has dramatically changed the way people handle transactions and business dealings. In fact, according to Leftronic, the blockchain industry is anticipated to gain $20 billion in revenue within the next five years.

Essentially, blockchain cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, work by using a public ledger that records and verifies transactions. Bitcoin is decentralized, which means that there is no central authority overseeing these exchanges. Instead, blockchain is based on a peer-to-peer network that relies on its users to verify and store data.

Why? One of the greatest appeals of blockchain applications is that it provides greater transparency for its users compared to traditional systems that require paper-heavy processes, third-party services, and physical signatures from everyone involved. Blockchain not only eliminates these requirements, but it also prevents serious consequences like human error or fraud.

This requires the help of Bitcoin miners. When a person wants to send Bitcoins to someone else, Bitcoin creates a transaction block to represent the exchange. After the block is broadcasted to Bitcoin miners, they can verify and approve the block.

Furthermore, because of blockchain’s superefficient nature, it removes the necessity of a “middleman,” such as a bank. This means that there are fewer steps to complete a transaction and users do not need to pay bank fees or schedule their time around bank hours.

To do this, miners solve complicated mathematical puzzles to convert all the information in the transaction block into a shorter sequence of numbers and letters. This sequence is also known as a hash. Each hash representing a transaction is different and it is impossible to tell what data the hash represents solely by looking at it.

In the w miners to transaction rewards in successfull receive the

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Cryptoc examples world of co interested technology out our cl teach a programmi Java, Pytho

CRYPTOCURRENCY

AYOUT DESIGN BY SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI

world of Bitcoin, we rely on confirm and verify every n but they also get some return. Every time a miner y mines a block, they eir own Bitcoins in return.

@codefycs

hort, the ledger system in cryptocurrencies provides benefits for those who use ain itself is continuing to pularity across the globe as ple come to realize how y significantly improves our e better.

currencies are one of many of the ever-expanding omputer science. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in building innovative y or learning to code, check asses at Codefy CS. We variety of different ng languages including on, C++, and more!

In recent months, experts have been warning us that we only have a matter of years before irreversible climate change sets in. Unfortunately, air travel, one of the key ways that we currently travel and communicate with each other across the globe, produces high amounts of CO2 emissions, which contribute to climate change. However, Airbus, a European aircraft manufacturing corporation, has just launched a new aircraft program that seeks to manufacture aircraft that gives off zero carbon emissions. The new concept program ‘ZEROe’, which stands for zero-emission, consists of three concept aircraft, all of which will be ‘hydrogen-hybrid’ aircraft, and will utilize liquid hydrogen as a fuel source. The three concept aircraft includes a turbofan, a turboprop, and a blended wing body aircraft. The turbofan aircraft is most comparable to the jet planes that we commonly see at airports across the world. This aircraft will have a capacity of between 120-200 passengers, and will be capable of a range of up to 2,000 nautical miles; this will allow it to travel across continents. The engines on this aircraft will look quite similar to the engines found on today’s normal jetliners However, as mentioned previously, the engines will run on hydrogen fuel. Similarly, the turboprop aircraft will look similar to many current regional jets, such as the Bombardier Dash-8 q400 aircraft

airbus introduces new, e aircraft series. The turboprop aircraft will be capable of seating up to 100 passengers and flying a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles, making it perfect for short-haul flights. The aircraft will be propelled by hydrogen hybrid engines, which will be the two propeller turbines on board, each with eight blades. Finally, the blended wing body aircraft differs from its two counterparts: the look of this concept is unlike anything we are currently seeing in the skies today. This aircraft features a fuselage, which is the middle of the plane where the passengers sit, which is blended with the wings, creating a wide, triangular-shaped aircraft. This aircraft will be able to seat almost 200 passengers, similar to the turbofan aircraft, and will have a maximum range of around 2,000 nautical miles, again comparable to the turbofan aircraft. The engines will be located above the fuselage on the top of the aircraft and are similar in functionality to the turbofan engines.

environmentally Friendly program

Although the dream of zero-emission commercial flight may seem futuristic, it may be coming sooner than we think. According to Airbus, we can expect to see all three of these aircraft in the skies by 2035. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just around 15 years from now! That being said, there are a few drawbacks that Airbus will have to face to put these aircraft into service.

Namely, airports will likely have to adapt so that they can have hydrogen fuel on hand for the planes. Airports will also have to readjust and construct some more gates that would be capable of accommodating the wider blended-wing body aircraft. It is also likely that Airbus will need the support of many investors and governments to get this green initiative going. Not to mention that not only these planes, but also the new fuel will very likely go through highly scrutinized testing to be approved for a flight around the world. After all of these legal and practical challenges, it will be up to the airlines to buy and put these aircraft into service. This means that Airbus has to tackle the challenge of marketing these planes to airlines. However, with all the benefits of an aircraft producing zero carbon emissions, such as the environmental benefits, it would be safe to say that these aircraft will have a profound impact on the way we travel and communicate with each other, as well as technology and the air travel industries, and the state of our environment.

by Ethan Brown, Giuliana CalĂŠ edited by Uday Lingampalli, Sahithi Lingampalli, Arushi Patil layout by Inchara J. art by Pahel Srivastava

MINI WIND The Future of Re

ith increases in per capita income and the world’s overall population, our natural resources are depleting at an irregular, increased rate. Many businesses and organizations have begun turning to renewable energy resources: as a result, implementing new, sustainable practices is not always easy. Harvesting wind energy through the use of turbines is one of the most cost-effective ways of using renewable energy to our best ability; with the prospect of creating jobs and increasing industry growth (Wind Energy Technologies Office, n.d., 2020). However, as with any use of energy, there are many issues with large turbines that some may overlook. Wind turbine sites are generally located in rural areas due to space concerns and are largely unable to function in low-wind areas (Wind Energy Technologies Office, n.d., 2020). Similarly, natural landscapes are often altered for the placement of these structures, even causing harm to neighboring wildlife because of their very sharp blades (Wind Energy Technologies Office, n.d., 2020).

by Archin

Taking these disadvantages into account, many researchers have set out on a journey to further our knowledge on “tiny wind turbines,” with one of the most notable being developed in Beijing, China (Manduffie, 2020). Tiny wind turbines, or more formally called triboelectric nanogenerators, have been recently improved upon to solve the gap in issues that traditional wind turbines are unable to resolve. One such nanogenerator, called the B-TENG device, has been researched by Beijing scientists for quite some time now. It’s rather small with internal measurements only ranging from one to four inches and is assembled from various low-cost materials ranging from magnets to coils (Hannah C., 2020). Within the device itself, two triboelectric films are overlapped, and as “low flutter wind” passes through the device, the films come in contact with each other to generate a current (Hannah C., 2020). Afterwards, this generated energy can be used to power objects like light bulbs and sensors with the intent to make electricity available in areas that are

TURBINES

newable Energy?

ni Desai

more difficult to power. Conversion rates from wind to energy are around 3% more efficient than traditional wind turbines: the new device is much more convenient when paired with pressure monitoring systems and thermometers (Grover, 2020). Though the B-TENG device also poses similar negative impacts like noise and visual pollution, these are produced at much lower rates because the devices are so compact (Grover, 2020). Similarly, the generation of energy varies with the wind speed on the device, which could mean these devices, like large turbines, may be harder to use in certain circumstances. Certain factors â&#x20AC;&#x201D;such as the durability of devices and their use in harsh weather conditions (ice, rain, etc.)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;have also been questioned, but it is likely that such information will evolve with more research and time (Grover, 2020).

In all honesty, Beijing researchers that worked on the new project never held the intention to particularly overthrow the use of large wind turbines or for the B-TENG model to completely act as a replacement. In contrast, researchers are prioritizing a world in which traditional wind turbines and new technology can be used side-by-side to maximize energy efficiency and use in every corner of the world.

EDITED

TARUNI

MANAM,

HARVI

KARATHA, MANUSHRI BAPAT ART BY SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI LAYOUT BY CLAIRE SAKURAUCHI

Decentralizing the Insulin Industry:

Making Insulin Rightfully Cheap and Accessible to All in Need by Sanjna Mootakoduru, Kaushik Vada edited by Uday Lingampalli, Sahithi Lingampalli, Arushi Patil Around 1 in 10 American adults have diabetes (CDC, 2020), and yet the average American diabetic paid 3 times more for insulin, a substance they need for survival, in 2013 than they did in 2002 (Verge Science, 2019). But why is that the case when insulin is so easily and cheaply manufactured? The truth is, insulin should be much cheaper than what numerous diabetics are paying for. But to understand the problem with the insulin industry, let’s first dive into what insulin is in the first place, and why diabetics need it. After you eat a meal, the amount of glucose, the preferred energy source for organs like your brain and skeletal muscles, in your blood increases. Every cell in your body needs glucose to some extent, those of your brain, muscles, and red blood cells especially, but it can’t enter cells on its own. That’s where insulin comes in. Secreted by the pancreas, insulin is a hormone that binds to receptors on

cell surfaces and unlocks the doorway that glucose uses to enter the cell. But when a person has diabetes, they either do not produce enough insulin or their cells don’t respond to it as they should. Either way, this means the glucose floating around in your blood can’t get into the cells where it’s

needed. This is why diabetics use lab grown insulin, which is produced by bacteria. As mentioned before, the process for creating insulin is rather cheap, efficient, and allows companies to make a lot of it. So then, what is the problem? Why is insulin so expensive? Well the short answer is patents. Leading companies in the insulin industry like Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk control almost 96% of the world's insulin supply (Verge Science, 2019). They do this by using numerous patents that can give them a head start on selling their insulin, and preventing competitors from entering the industry. Brands like Sanofi have around 74 patents that can last up to 37 years (Verge Science, 2019). But that isn’t even the most cruel part of this scheme: each patent only changes very little. So essentially, they aren’t even for scientific innovation or progress, rather just looking to make money off of people who are in desperate need of something that keeps them alive. But what happens when people in need can’t afford the high prices? The Open Insulin Project is a collection of researchers and advocates working to develop an open source protocol for producing insulin that is affordable, has transparent pricing, and is community-owned. The project aims to develop both the methodology and hardware to allow communities and individuals to produce medical-grade insulin for the

treatment of diabetes. These methods will be low-cost in order to combat the high price of insulin in places like the US. There is also potential for smallscale distributed production that may allow for improved insulin access, in places with poor availability infrastructure. Access to insulin remains so insufficient around the globe that "half of all people who need insulin lack the financial or logistical means to obtain adequate supplies." New innovation ecosystems are emerging that challenge the complex intellectual property and regulatory landscape surrounding drug development in the United States. A prime example is an initiative known as the Open Insulin Project, as discussed previously. The goal of the project is to sidestep patents and enable generic manufacturers to produce cheaper insulin. However, the US regulatory environment, not patent exclusivity, is the main barrier to insulin affordability. If the Open Insulin Project succeeds in releasing an open protocol for insulin manufacturing, follow-on work could enable a number of new insulin production ecosystems, including ‘home-brewed’ insulin. Regulators will need to consider how to proceed in a future where commercial pharmaceuticals remain unaffordable, but patients are empowered to produce drugs for their personal use.

art by Evelyn Chen layout by Tristan Castro

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY FOR ADULTS WITH AUTISM Known to have no cure, autism is a wide range of developmental disorders which can only be hoped to be alleviated through treatment. Many people suffer from this condition, and there have been thousands of studies, attempted cures, and treatment suggestions for it. Recently, a few new treatments have been brought into the mix, ranging from a simulator tracking stress in adults with autism spectrum disorders, to a personal social robot. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you should know! Autism spectrum disorders, or ASD, encompasses a range of developmental disorders whose causes are unknown. Symptoms include repetitive behavior, communication struggles, and delayed social development.

How the autism spectrum works is not yet understood, so it has no cure, and it can only be diagnosed if symptoms are shown. ASDs include disorders such as autism, Asperger syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and PDD-NOS. People with autism face many challenges, such as finding jobs and connecting with people. There are ways to help alleviate some of these problems, though. A collaboration project by Yale, Cornell, Vanderbilt, and the Georgia Institute of Technology are producing technological solutions to these difficulties. Susanne Bruyere, the director of the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell, acts as a guide to the researchers and makes sure their project suits the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs while furthering her knowledge of the struggles confronted by people with ASD.

BY SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI, UDAY LINGAMPALLI 39

Nilanjan Sarkar, the leader of the collaboration and a professor of engineering at Vanderbilt University, is working on two projects to help adults with ASD. The first project, a simulator, concerns stress during an interview. Since people with ASD have difficulty in taking an interview, the simulator simulates a practice interview. It tracks the person’s level of stress and ﬁnds the sources of stress using the data, so the person can attempt to manage their stress. Adults with ASD also have trouble with social activities, so the second project, through a virtual environment, has adults exercise teamwork. This will help adults with ASD improve their social interactions.

Another Vanderbilt researcher, Maithilee Kunda, the assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering, is trying to solve another job-finding problem. Knowing people with ASD have better than average visual reasoning abilities, she directs the endeavour to use technology to help adults with ASD find personalized jobs.

The technology uses cameras sensors to analyze the adult while solve some puzzles, and uses the from their puzzle scores to find they might be successful in.

and they data jobs

Brian Scassellatti, the A. Bartlett Giamatti professor of computer science, mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale, designs his solution around helping adults with ASD cope in the workplace. According to Yale Daily News, Scassellatti says “It doesn’t matter whether you are stocking grocery shelves or whether you are doing data entry or running a high-profile money market, whatever job you’re doing there are going to be interruptions during the day. Minor day-to-day interruptions can be real challenges for adults with ASD in the workplace.” Scassellatti’s solution to this problem is a personal social robot. While the robot’s user is engaged in another activity, the robot will ask a question at random. The robot will then note down various things, such as whether the user answered the question and with the proper manners.

EDITED BY RIONA CARRINGTON, ARUSHI PATIL ART BY SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI 40

A major problem is making sure everything the adults with ASD learned from training carries over in their actual jobs. Jim Rehg, a professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his team use eyetracking glasses to solve this problem. These glasses are worn by the interviewer and the person being interviewed, and takes a video during the interview. Then, these two videos are compared using an algorithm created by Rehg and his team, in order to find different behavioral patterns.

This new technology could have a huge impact on adults with ASD, depending on their specific behavioral condition and severity. The simulator that is being developed by Sarkar could help autistic adults with social anxiety and communication problems without placing them directly in their feared situations. Kunda’s unique job-searching platform based on their visual reasoning skills could be a game changer for autistic adults who cannot speak and are dependent on their visual and intellectual skills. Scassellatti’s social robot could help autistic adults with communication, speech, and concentration difficulties slowly help themselves get better. Looking at how technology is advancing to help adults with ASD overcome their difficulties, there is definitely a chance for a possible ‘cure’ in the future.

LAYOUT BY AATHMIKA RADHACHANDRAN 41

REFERENCES

CODEFYCS: BLOCKCHAIN & CRYTOCURRENCY

Cointelegraph. How to Mine Bitcoins. Cointelegraph Retrieved from: www.cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-for-beginners/what-is-mining Hooper, M. (2018). Top Five Blockchain Benefits Transforming Your Industry. IBM. Retrieved from: www.ibm.com/blogs/blockchain/2018/02/top-five-blockchain-benefits-transforming-your-industry/ Milijic, M. (2019). 21+ MIND-BLOWING Blockchain Statistics in 2020. Leftronic. Retrieved from: leftronic.com/blockchain-statistics/ Rashkovich, B. (2020). Blockchain Explained: A Simple Explanation of How It Works. Fundera. Retrieved from: www.fundera.com/blog/blockchain-explained/

AIRBUS INTRODUCES NEW AIRCRAFT PROGRAM Airbus. (2020). ZEROe Towards the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft. Airbus. Retrieved from: https://www.airbus.com/innovation/zero-emission/hydrogen/zeroe.html

YALE RESEARCHERS DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY FOR ADULTS WITH AUTISM

(2020). Autism spectrum. Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum Olivia, E. (2020). Yale researchers develop AI technology for adults with autism. Yale Daily News. Retrieved from: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/09/23/yale-researchers-develop-ai-technology-for-adults-withautism/#:~:text=Researchers%20from%20several%20American%20universities,the%20Georgia%20Institute%20of%20Technolo gy.

MINI WIND TURBINES: THE FUTURE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY? C., H. (September 25, 2020). B-TENG Device: Tiny Wind Turbine Harvests Energy From a Breeze. Science Times. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/27460/20200925/b-teng-device-tiny-wind-turbine-harvets-energybreeze.htm Grover, N. (2020, September 23). 'Tiny wind turbine' can collect energy from a walker's swinging arm. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/23/tiny-wind-turbine-can-collect-energy-from-awalkers-swinging-arm Manduffie, D. (2020, September 23). Tiny Turbine Could Power Electronics With Breeze Made While Walking. Courthouse News. Retrieved from: https://www.courthousenews.com/tiny-turbine-could-power-electronics-with-breeze-made-while-walking/

DECENTRALIZING THE INSULIN INDUSTRY

Verge Science. (2019). Insulin should be cheap. Here’s why it's not. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CdydQNfAXECDC. (2020). National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2020. CDC. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-statreport.html#:~:text=34.2%20million%20Americans%E2%80%94just%20over,1%20in%203%E2%80%94have%20prediabetes.

science Truth on Remdesiver

CO2, You're Going Down!

Nobel Winners!

Study by the WHO reveals that Remdesiver, an antiviral drug that was thought to reduce COVID, cannot change the death rate.

COVID-19 causes the biggest drop in carbon dioxide emission, due to people not travelling in their cars as much.

Physiology & Medicine Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M it for their discovery of Hepatitis C.

Nobel Winners! Physics Roger Penrose won the prize for his discoveries about black holes; Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez won for the discovery of a supermassive object in the middle of our galaxy.

Nobel Winners! Chemistry Awarded Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for developing a new method of genome editing.

Rain can move Mountains Study reveals that rain can suck rocks up from the Earth to help mountains move up.

headlines we couldn't cover

the thrill of terrors

page 45 - 46

earth may be receiving a mini moon

page 47 - 48

when the answer comes in a dream

. . .

page 49 - 52

long-term effects of covid-19 page 53 - 55

ctober, the tenth month of the year, the month of fall, and pumpkin spice lattes, and. . . National Fluffernutter Day? Let’s be real, October means Halloween. Costumes, trick-or-treating (please be safe this year), candy, jack o’ lanterns, and so much more. Most importantly, Halloween is scary: haunted houses and horror movies. Usually, fear is seen as a bad thing, and you try to avoid it. However, when Halloween rolls around, people actively seek out fear through horror movies and haunted houses. Why do we enjoy the thrill of people jumping out at you with bloody axes? Or watching people get scared in a house that they wouldn’t be in if they had just listened to me when I was yelling at them through the TV screen to not go in? Why do we enjoy getting scared? Firstly, we need to understand what happens when we get scared. Fear is caused by the fight or flight response triggered by your brain. To activate this response, you need a trigger. This trigger can be seeing a spider scuttling towards you or hearing a scream in a horror movie. When you get scared, a part of your brain called the amygdala gets

the thrill o

by kavya gurunath | edited by riona carri layout by sahithi lingam activated. The amygdala activates another part of your brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus triggers the release of a cascade of hormones, such as adrenaline, which starts the fight or flight response. This response is meant to get you away from danger. Your brain causes you to sweat, your heart to start pumping, and you scream or run away. So, this is why you get scared. However, when you are in a haunted house or watching a horror movie, you know you are safe, which causes a modified flight or fight response.

Once your fight or flight response is activated, your body assesses the threat to see if it is a real danger to you. Even if you know the threat won’t harm you, your body still activates the fear response. However, the hypothalamus triggers the release of hormones such as dopamine, which actually makes you happy. When you are walking through a haunted house or watching a horror movie, your body gets into the flight or fight response and starts enjoying it. Dopamine is why people laugh after they get scared. Dopamine release causes you to be happy or excited and provides the thrill

of terrors

ington, harvi karatha, shabdika gubba mpalli | art by sharon pan of scares. Therefore, when you are safe in your blanket watching a horror movie, the fear actually causes a thrill. This is why people enjoy getting scared. Not all people enjoy haunted houses and horror movies. There are many reasons for this. It could have to do with your personality. People who are more shy and sensitive generally donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enjoy getting scared as much. Science says that people who arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t into horror movies and haunted houses have less autoreceptors which control the amount of dopamine released. People that have less autoreceptors will have less fun being frightened. So, next time your sibling teases you about being a scaredy-cat, say it is because you have less autoreceptors in your body. During quarantine, it will probably be hard to get to a good haunted house, but people are doing haunted drive-throughs, where people will scare you as you drive through the street. This way you can stay safe and get a fright. Horror movies can be enjoyed at home at any time. Whatever you do this Halloween, please make sure you and the people around you stay safe. As for me, I will

probably be at home, eating candy from a huge Costco pack. Happy Halloween!

WHICH IS

PROBABLY JUST

SPACE JUNK

EARTH MAY BE

RECEIVING A

MINI MOON

Just to place a disclaimer for anyone worried out there, we are not in danger. Yes: the moon controls tides and affects our planets in various other ways. No: the mini-moon will not disrupt life as we know it. This event occurs very frequently, and it does not affect our daily lives at all. The estimated size of this mini-moon is to be somewhere between 14 to 32 feet. It's not threatening and could probably fit into a building. The reason why this mini-moon named Asteroid 2020 SO is so intriguing to scientists everywhere is that it’s entering the Earth’s orbit. Mini-moons, which normally happen to be asteroids, usually orbit the Sun, but in this case, Asteroid 2020 SO is expected to be space junk coming towards us in late November from around 27,000 miles away.

The 1960’s; the good old days. Though I wasn’t born back then, I’ve heard lots of stories about it. The famous Space Race is what I’ve heard about the most: the USA versus The Soviets, sending a man to space, et cetera. However, what about all the junk that we left in Earth’s gravitational field? They are mostly rocket boosters, just floating around in space near our planet and having no visible effect on us, until recently. Scientists have discovered a new moon. A mini-moon, to be precise, which happens to be flying into our orbit. What could this mini-moon be? An asteroid? Or that space junk we left flying around a while back? More importantly, how does this affect the Earth? The man who discovered this minimoon, Paul Chodas, the director of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, told CNN that he “[suspected] this newly discovered object 2020 SO to be an old rocket booster because it is following an orbit about the Sun that is extremely similar to Earth's, nearly circular, in the same plane, and only slightly farther away from the Sun at its farthest point.” If you didn’t understand all of that, the rundown is that Chodas suspects the mini-moon to be space junk and not an asteroid as it usually is because asteroids don’t normally enter Earth’s orbit.

Chodas also told CNN that it is "precisely the kind of orbit that a rocket stage separated from a lunar mission would follow, once it passes by the Moon and escapes into orbit about the Sun. It's unlikely that an asteroid could have evolved into an orbit like this, but not impossible." Chodas is essentially saying that Asteroid 2020 SO is in a part of the orbit similar to where a rocket booster would have been separated from a lunar mission; this points more arrows towards the possibility of the new moon being space junk rather than an asteroid. In 1966, Surveyor 2 was launched. Surveyor 2 was designed to have a gentle landing on the moon, but it failed: causing the spacecraft to crash. It wasn’t gentle at all. The Centaur, the rocket which had helped boost Surveyor 2 to orbit, left the Earth’s orbit to join the Sun’s. No one had seen or heard of it since. However, it looks like we may have found it, judging by the position Asteroid 2020 SO is in now. Chodas suspects this conclusion and traces it back to Asteroid 2020 SO, which led him to recognize that Asteroid 2020 SO was in Earth’s vicinity sometime around 1966.

The fact that Earth will be receiving a new mini-moon is exciting and something to observe if anyone at home has a telescope. Chodas expects Asteroid 2020 SO to properly come into orbit around late November, and the mini-moon is expected to come 27,000 miles close to Earth. This will be exciting for scientists since they might be able to finally determine whether this mini-moon is an asteroid or space junk. As of right now, however, all scientists can do is spectate the new addition to our Earth’s orbit.

by Inchara J edited by Kavya Gurunath, Taruni Manam, Shabdika Gubba, Harvi Karatha layout by Alison Ye

When the Answer Comes in a Dream...

by Ashmita Annamalai edited by Uday Lingampalli, Kavya Gurunath, Shabdika Gubba, Taruni Manam

A wall of thorns encloses around you as you struggle to escape the inevitable. Your bleeding arms hold you back as the sunlight diminishes, surrounding you with darkness. As you soak up the last bits of the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rays, you see a hole peeking out of the corner. You scramble up and run through the opening, grazing the thorns. Before you can scream, you jolt up from your bed and awaken from your dream. And that's when it hits you: the perfect solution to escape your oppressive nation. Psychologists use the term Eureka! Effect to describe this process, in which a previously unsolvable puzzle becomes suddenly obvious. These Aha! moments can happen during conscious states, but the ones that occur in dreams are especially fascinating. As we sleep, our mind connects to the unconscious creative features of ourselves. Expressions come through without judgment and flow with clarity during the dream

state. By obtaining access to the unconscious mind, our deeper selfknowledge that might be suppressed during our day-to-day life will begin to surface (Neff, 2015).

The Brain's Role: Dreams usually occur during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. During REM, an area of your brain associated with image information, known as the secondary visual cortex, becomes more active than it is when awake. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region associated with voluntary actions and the evaluation of what is logical and socially appropriate, becomes less active. Other parts of the brain that are not associated with reasoning also display different activity levels when compared with their conscious states (Barrett, 2020). REM sleep and dreaming helps

people solve problems by replaying experiences. Dreams integrate daily events into longer-lasting memories and allow the dreamer to better regulate their emotions. Frequent dream patterns usually embrace one or more of these dream themes: insufficiently completing tasks, losing control over oneself, being threatened, anxiousness, and novel experiences. Metaphoric imagery of tsunamis, aliens, zombies, small creatures, and insects also constitute recurring patterns.

Dream Incubation: Years before the discovery of these activity patterns, researchers started to explore the effects of dreams on creativity and problem-solving. In the late 1900s, psychologists developed a technique called dream incubation. This method â&#x20AC;&#x153;involves directing oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream content through bedtime selfsuggestionsâ&#x20AC;? (Barrett, 2020). Various studies were conducted to evaluate

the efficacy of this technique, namely ones carried out by sleep researcher William Dement of Stanford University and Deirdre Barrett, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. Based on the data he collected, Dement concluded that “students lost motivation quickly on problems of little relevance to their lives” (Barrett, 2020). Barrett’s approach led her to deduce that simple problems benefited more from dream incubation than the abstract brain teasers from Dement’s study.

Types of Problems: REM sleep is associated with problem-solving, which requires access to our memory. This causes creativity levels to increase while dreaming. Therefore, any kind of problem can be solved during dreams, especially one that has been intensively worked on while awake. Problem-solving dreams tend to fall into one of two categories. The first one is problems that have a visual solution. In a group of 400 professionals, 90% of visual artists “said they had made use of dreams in their work, whereas only 50% of writers did” (Barrett, 2020). The other type of problem is one where someone needs to “think outside the box”. A popular puzzle requiring unconventional thinking is how to make four triangles with six matchsticks. Many people described

attempting to solve this puzzle on flat surfaces while awake. Yet, a myriad of successful dreams showed the matchsticks lifted in the correct three-dimensional solution. The most powerful instances of dreams helping people solve problems are from trauma survivors, for whom the problem is their emotional wounds. Trauma survivors often have nightmares about the event they experienced. Some survivors would, occasionally, have a mastery dream in which the nightmare resulted in the individual being rescued, or they fought off the threat. The survivor would then awaken, feeling a sense of comfort. Mostly, the nightmare would not reoccur after the mastery dream (Barret, 2020).

Conclusion: REM sleep and dream incubation come together to solve various types of problems, including visual and unconventional ones. They can even help you relieve yourself of posttraumatic nightmares and solve your emotional wounds. The next time you can’t find a solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem, try dreaming. You may get an answer.

Something to Try! How to Incubate a Dream* 1. Write down the problem as a brief phrase on a notepad and place the notepad by the bed. You can also arrange related objects where you can see them from the bed 2. Review the problem for a few minutes just before bedtime. 3. Once in bed, visualize the problem as a concrete image if possible. 4. As you drift off to sleep, tell yourself you want to dream about the problem. Visualize yourself dreaming about the problem, awakening, and writing on the notepad. 5. Upon awakening, lie quietly in bed and note whether there is any trace of a recalled dream, inviting more of the dream to return if possible. Write it down. *adapted from American Scientist

art by Evelyn Chen layout by Tristan Castro 52

LONG TERM EFFECTS O Because of how recent COVID-19 is, it's hard to know what the long-term effects it has on the body are. Sometimes COVID-19 symptoms can last for months, and these symptoms include fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headaches, and joint pain. These symptoms can create lasting effects on the lungs, heart and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems. Even though most people who have contracted COVID-19 have completely recovered after a few weeks, some people, even people who got mild versions of the virus, continue to experience symptoms after their initial recovery. High-risk people, like the elderly and people with serious medical conditions, are most likely to experience COVID-19 symptoms for months. COVID-19 is a disease that mostly affects the lungs, but it can also damage other organs, creating long-term health problems. COVID-19 can make blood cells clump together, forming clots. Large clots can cause heart attacks and strokes, by restricting blood flow. Blood clots affect the lungs, legs, liver and kidneys. The main organs COVID-19 effects are the heart, lungs and brain.

OF COVID-19

BRAIN COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndromea condition that causes temporary paralysis. This isn't an issue only the elderly or amino-compromised have to worry about. Young people can have these health problems occur too. COVID-19 also increases the risk of developing Parkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease and Alzheimer's disease. Even though we know this much, there are still many unknown long-term effects of COVID19 on your body. As much as quarantining is less than ideal; it is still important to follow the guidelines and wear masks.

HEART

LUNGS

Tests taken months after the initial recovery have shown lasting damage to muscle of the heart. This may increase the risk of heart failure, or other heart complications in the future. A lot of this heart damage is due to small clots that block tiny blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.

The biggest cause of COVID-19 deaths in the elderly is the development of pneumonia. Pneumonia causes long-standing damage to alveoli, tiny air sacs in the lungs. The scar tissue that results can lead to long-term breathing problems.

NEVE WALKER

EDITED BY

UDAY LINGAMPALLI, KAVYA GURUNATH, & SHABDIKA GUBBA

ART BY

SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI

LAYOUT BY

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references the thrill of terrors

D'mello, B. (December 3, 2019). Why Do We Get Scared? Science ABC. Retrieved from: https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/why-do-we-get-scared.html Lentz, C. (April 18, 2018). Here's why you actually love being scared. Insider. Retrieved from: https://www.insider.com/why-people-love-to-be-scared-2018-4

long-term effects of covid-19 (October 7, 2020). COVID-19 (coronavirus): Long-term effects. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art20490351#:~:text=COVID%2D19%20symptoms%20can,within%20a%20few%20weeks.

earth may be receiving a mini moon Kim, A. A new mini-moon is about to join Earth's orbit. It could be a booster rocket from the 60s. CNN. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/us/mini-moon-scn-trnd/index.html

when the answer comes in a dream

. . .

Barrett, D. (2020) When the Answer Comes in a Dream. American Scientist. Retrieved from: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/when-the-answer-comes-in-a-dream Neff, K. (2015) How Dreaming Can Lead to Amazing Creative Breakthroughs. The Lucid Planet. Retrieved from: https://thelucidplanet.com/how-dreaming-can-lead-to-amazing-creative-breakthroughs/ (2016) How to Stimulate Creative Breakthroughs: The Unconscious and Creativity. Academy of Ideas. Retrieved from: https://academyofideas.com/2016/06/stimulating-creativity-unconscious/

Lifestyle

The Importance of Reducing Your Digital Footprint

How to Lead a Carbon Neutral life

MontrĂŠal Style Bagels Recipe

Getting into the College Mindset

The Importance of Reducing

your Digital Footprint

pages 59 - 60

How to lead a Carbon Neutral

life

page 54-55

MontrĂŠal Style Bagels Recipe page 56-57

Getting into the College

Mindset

page 57-58

THE IMPOR

REDUCIN

DIGITAL FO

by Riona edited By Taruni Manam, layout by V art by Sanjn

When we browse the internet we usually do not think about the virtual trail we leave behind. Granted that mostly everything is now online, we need to be more aware and inherently more careful with what that path will reveal. Many people try to hide things from the world, but how can you hide something that you didn't even realize you were leaving behind? Then when you do realize, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to take it back. What would you do differently? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why you should make the necessary lifestyle changes to maximize your chances of having an easy life.

Primarily, most university admission enrollment officers and job recruiters check your social media to ensure that you are in line with their brand. You can have exceptional grades as well as many extracurriculars, but schools will be apprehensive about your acceptance if they do not approve of your use of social media. Therefore, it is better to be squeaky clean than to have such an unpalatable record. Remember that whatever you put out cannot be recalled, only hidden.

RTANCE OF

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Carrington Arushi Patil, Manushri Bapat Vrinda Gandhi a Mootakoduru Secondly, to be safe. Lots of people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realize that location services help random people to track you, not just your parents and friends. Online, almost every site uses cookies to collect your data and that data is either stored or sold. It helps to build an online representation of who you are and often times, it can be spot on. This fact jeopardizes your security because anyone with knowledge of computer science and coding can track you for their own sinister purposes. I think it is important if we are hyper aware about cyber crime and how this can affect our future.

Finally, we need to think about the laws governing the internet and how many more laws may need to be passed because of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s changing society. We are now going through what may be recorded as a cyber revolution in history. I want us to have all we need to survive such a revolution. Though we are always on our phones, I urge us to be civil and sensible in our interactions. I hope that we learn to be careful with the use of the internet. I trust that we will become smarter and use this resource to our advantage.

How to Lead a Carbon Neutral Life by Neve Walker

edited by Taruni Manam, Harvi Karatha Climate change is an ongoing issue that has intensified over the years. This issue can be scary and overwhelming, but it's important to know that anyone can make a difference. Little changes you make throughout the day can significantly reduce your carbon footprint. The science of climate change is complex, and there are still unknown causes for it. One main factor of climate change is human COâ&#x201A;&#x201A; emissions. Some may say that it's the big companies at fault, along with cows, for the greenhouse gas production. However, the fact of the matter is that we can't change

these companies and farm stock overnight, but we can change what we are personally doing to limit the amount of carbon we produce.There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint, but you have to first calculate how much COâ&#x201A;&#x201A; you normally produce. You can use this link here to calculate your footprint.

Reducing Driving and Flying One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to drive less. You can do this by taking public transport or carpooling with people close to you. According to researchers at Lund University and the University of British Columbia, going car-less for a year could save 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide. You can also use the train to go long distances and use bikes for traveling

art by Evelyn Chen layout by Tristan Castro 61

short distances. Although it theoretically saves a lot of CO₂ to not driving for a year, it is not realistic. You can also fly less to save CO₂. If you take a train instead of flying, your CO₂ emissions will go down significantly. If you can't fly or drive less, you can donate to sustainable charities instead.

Change Your Diet A different way to reduce your carbon footprint is to change your diet. By eating less meat—specifically red meat—you reduce your carbon footprint while also saving water. Eating one meal without meat saves more water than not showering for 6 months. Beef gives off 6 pounds of carbon dioxide per serving. Additionally, another way to eat more sustainably is to not waste food. Americans waste around 30-40% of our food supply. If you conserve your food and make enough for yourself, not only will you not waste your food, but you will also save money because you don't have to buy food as often.

BY ETHAN BROWN LAYOUT BY AATHMIKA RADHACHANDRAN Almost all of us know and love the iconic taste of a New York bagel. They’re salty, doughy, chewy and overall delicious. However, most people don’t know of a different variety of bagel, that could be considered better than New York’s. There is a constituency of people, who consider Montréal bagels to be better than any other in North America. Bagels du Montréal or Montréal-Style Bagels are characterized by their touch of sweetness, their crispy exterior, and light and chewy interior. This recipe is relatively easy to make and straight-forward, but just a little tedious. However, the results are guaranteed to be delicious. For the Dough: 1 ½ cups warm water ¼ cup honey 3 tablespoons of canola oil 2 ½ teaspoons or about 1 packet active dry yeast 1 large egg 4 ½ cups bread flour 1 teaspoon salt For the Rest: 1 cup sesame seeds (optional) 14 cups water (for boiling) ⅓ cup honey (for boiling)

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Step 2: Combine the warm water, honey, oil, yeast and egg into a large bowl, and whisk together. Step 3: Add and stir in the flour and salt in 3 parts, about 1 ½ cups each part. Step 4: Once you begin to add in the flour, you will notice that stirring the dough will start getting difficult. This is when you can use your hands, if you’d like, to work the dough. It is important to get as much flour into the dough as possible, so kneading the dough so that the flour is incorporated into it may be necessary. Step 5: Spread some bread flour on the counter, pull out the dough onto the floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes.To knead, take one corner of the dough, fold it over and squeeze the dough down. Repeat this step with the other corners for as long as needed. The goal here is to get the dough to be soft and supple. When you’re done kneading, the dough should look and feel almost like pizza dough. Step 6: Flour a surface once more and put the dough on top of it. Cover the dough with a towel and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.

EDITED BY RIONA CARRINGTON, UDAY LINGAMPALLI, TARUNI MANAM ART BY SHARON PAN Step 7: In a large pot, add in the water and the other part of honey. Bring to a boil. Then, pour your sesame seeds into a smaller bowl. You may also choose to add a few pinches of kosher salt into the sesame mixture here, if you would prefer a saltier bagel. Step 8: While the pot is beginning to boil, begin the process of rolling. To start, cut the dough into smaller sections, at least three. Roll out a section of the dough into a long strip. Take one end of the strip in your hand, flip your hand and then cut the dough off with your hand. Then, roll out the dough to close the two ends of the ring. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough. Step 9: To boil the bagels: add in 3-4 bagels to the water at a time and keep them in for about three minutes, flipping them halfway through. Once boiled, set the bagels aside and let them cool for a few minutes afterwards. Repeat this process for all of the bagels. Note: it may help to have a frying spoon here. Otherwise, a regular pasta spoon should work fine too. Step 10: Once cooled, take one bagel at a time, and put it in the sesame seed bowl, covering it with the seeds. Take it out and lay it on a baking sheet. Repeat with all of the bagels.

Step 11: Once every bagel is on the baking sheet, put them in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside. While this should take about 20 minutes, I recommend checking on your bagels every 5-10 minutes, just to make sure. Step 12: Enjoy! I know this recipe was hard work, but the results should be quite tasty, even if you mess up a bit! Feel free to enjoy your bagels with butter, cream cheese, avocado or whatever you like!

Notes on working the dough: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go too crazy, or you might overwork the dough. If this happens, set the dough aside for a few minutes and then continue. I recommend that you cover your hands with flour while you are working with the dough. This tip should help reduce the amount of dough that gets stuck on your hands.

Getting Into the 2020 College Mindset I know it can be hard getting into the college mindset because I am a freshman in college. It’s hard to realize you may never get to experience the things others have because of a pandemic. It sucks! Truly, I know that it places an added pressure on you to accomplish more as well as create your own normal. So here’s some tips to help you out:

Be open minded.

Learn to accept things for the w they are. Try new things online b be safe. There are apps and sit dedicated to making friends in yo city. You can try Bumble (the be friend app) if that’s somethi you’re into. Try going out more your state is not under lockdow you can still find your tribe there you can look for a community Instagram or something.

Don’t wish for what others had. It may make you upset and bitter to acknowledge that our encounter with college would not be regular, but we should view it as an adventure. Everyone’s not adventurous but try it, it may surprise you.

y ut

our t

; or

Work Hard. Try not to get distracted by social media and Netflix because they are literally the plague. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even get started on Youtube. Prioritize your work and maybe develop a calendar system if to-do lists are not functional for you. Set your deadlines and get to work. But most of all, show interest in your education and your instructors will give you their utmost best because they do appreciate the effort.

Embrace the Unique. Embrace your differences and use them to your advantage. Speak up and ensure your voice is heard or, otherwise, it will be difficult to get help. Be genuine with your conversations and at least attempt to be cordial because you only get one chance to impress people while in quarantine.

by Riona Carrington edited by Taruni Manam, Arushi Patil, Manushri Bapat layout by Vrinda Gandhi

OPINION

do you support fourth wave feminism? why or why not?

blm vs blue lives matter

each mind: curriculum for mental health education in schools 67

do you support fourth wave feminism? why or why not?

page 52-53

blm vs blue lives matter

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each mind: curriculum for mental health education in schools

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do you support fou wave feminism? w why not? YES. While it is true that women’s rights have seen significant strides in the past century or so, there is still a pressing need for the feminist movement. The word “feminism” has been perverted by conservative commentators, who claim that equality under the law translates to equality in society. I think we all know of the now-infamous “feminist cringe compilation” reckoning on YouTube several years ago, which spotlighted “cringy” behavior by a select few radical feminists that often traversed into the realm of misandry. Online conservative media then took such examples of extreme behavior and extrapolated it to the feminist movement at-large, dismissing the entire movement as cringy, unnecessary manhating.

Conservative commentators have treated the #MeToo movement in the same way, taking a few examples of false accusations and using them to dismiss the movement in its entirety. Even more than that, online conservative media has continually demonstrated extraordinary hypocrisy when it comes to feminist issues. For example, when Taylor Swift released her “The Man” music video several months ago, a certain political commentator was quick to label the video “sexist.” The justification? He claimed that Swift’s deliberately hyperbolic depiction of toxic men was greatly unfair to most men— essentially, he went with a #NotAllMen argument. And yet, aren’t political commentators like him the same people who thrive in an environment that dismisses feminism because of a few radical misandrists?

urth why or

Irrational extrapolations and hypocrisy have consistently been used by online conservative media to block progress on multiple fronts, and we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by these inaccurate and illintentioned narratives. Centuries of oppression do not disappear with a signed piece of paper. Racism has not disappeared after the Jim Crow Laws have been done away with. Antisemitism has not disappeared after the Nuremburg Trials. Similarly, sexism has not disappeared, and we should not delude ourselves into thinking it has. Yes, women can vote. Yes, women can work. Yes, women can own property. But when powerful men dismiss their female colleagues for being “too emotional,” hurl expletives at Congresswomen, and manipulate the dreams of hopeful actresses for sexual gratification, we cannot claim that sexism is not an issue. And so long as sexism is an issue, we need feminism.

YES. Feminism is as real as it was back then. Evidence of fourth-wave feminism can be seen through increased online activism. On social media posts, many women take part in ”man-bashing”, claiming that men possess more rights than themselves. I perceive this as true, because even though women have obtained suffrage and are allowed to rise to significant roles in society, they are still treated unfairly. Unequal pay and patriarchy were said to have been abolished during the second and third waves of feminism. However, women are still paid less than men in certain workplaces. In 2020, the average woman earns 82 cents for every dollar

women are using it as a personal agenda to push bizarre interests. I believe that feminism could be a good thing, because if we were fighting for a unified front such as equal pay, one could easily justify being feminist. However, in fourth wave feminism, I think that almost anything can classify you as a feminist, i.e: you can be fighting for the pro choice abortion movement or even fighting for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ and you can still be called a feminist.

that a man earns. Adding on to that, rape culture continues to thrive. This type of societal culture normalizes and trivializes sexual assault and abuse.In recent times, I have not been able to walk outside alone at night without feeling unsafe as I am worried of lurking rapists, which is something no woman deserves to experience. I truly support women empowerment and equality and I deeply consider myself a part of the fourth-wave feminism movement.

NO. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.This definition is what feminism is supposed to be, but it has taken a leftist stance since more

Feminism is supposed to be a fight for women but because of its many branches, the whole message is being contorted into a power hungry womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s group and other times misandry.But if we are fighting for equality of the sexes, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we already have it? I think some women just have a problem with being a woman. The only

by Cindy Zhang, Ashmita Annamalai, & Riona Carrington edited by Kavya Gurunath, Manushri Bapat layout by Alison Ye art by Pahel Srivastava

way to solve a problem is first to analyze what we are up against. Women have to teach men to treat them the right way. If we don't, they are usually dominating creatures, and they will do what they do best… dominate! Some women think that men are supposed to know what is wrong, but the truth is they are not psychic— they won’t just know what you are thinking. By telling them what you think, you increase their knowledge. Knowledge helps us to become better, therefore it is on you to share your dilemmas and get them solved. I think that women need to come to terms with the fact that men will be men, and just like being a woman is not seen as toxic, man should not be viewed as such. Therefore, the feminist movement needs to re-evaluate what it means to be feminist. Women these days want to generalize and paint a bad picture of men, but what would society be like if men stopped working? Men should be valued, and if you have an issue, address their behavior instantaneously. feel safer knowing that a man will do business with me and for me. Men can be very singular in their interests, but they get things done. I believe that it is evident that men make sound decisions and will continue to make sound decisions.

various ways of expressing our emotions. Men can take a more levelheaded approach than women; it is often understood that men do not listen to women, but they do, ergo the male population expresses it in a peculiar manner. I think if women had communicated well from the start, then we would not have such a difficult problem to fix. With everything and everyone there are faults— the important thing is identifying and fixing them. On the contrary, I think that some aspects of modern feminism seek to destroy and annihilate the very cloth from which we were taken from, and I do not agree with that. I know that not being a feminist and being a woman is regarded as a sin to this movement, but you can’t blame the crimes of a few on everyone. This is absurd to me. The rights that feminists are pushing for like the equality act are preposterous. I mean, yes, we want to be egalitarian, but if you destroy gender segregated spaces, that makes your argument of men abusing women moot, because now you are creating an environment to facilitate that. It’s best to stop nuisances before they arise, than having to spend a lifetime undoing them because of failing to plan.

As a matter of fact, I don’t think men and women are equal. We have different anatomical structures and

THE UNITE HAS TO R HEALTH CU Introduction In 2018, Virginia and New York passed laws that require mental health education curriculums in public schools. Today, only 9 states have laws in place, with only 20 out of 50 putting mental health education in their pedagogical standard. It is incredibly important to have a mental health curriculum in schools, as school is where children learn to socialize with peers and develop habits for their physical health and their academic lives. Furthermore, mental health conditions are more common in children and teens. According to the Child Mind Institute, 17 million children in the US have or had a psychiatric disorder. Additionally, mental health conditions start early; 50% of people with life-long mental health disorders had symptoms that started before age 14 and 75% before age 24.

The prevalent and early onset of mental health conditions, in addition to the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prime role in a student's life, is why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essential to fully cover topics about mental health in the curriculum. Education about mental health will allow youth to get valuable, reliable information on a subject that is frequently misreported by the news and media. It enables youth to recognize symptoms of mental illness in themselves and those around them, which empowers them to utilize resources, coping strategies, and seek professional help with the guidance of their knowledge on mental health. Increasing schools are integrating mental health education in their health curriculum, however often it comes across as an afterthought to education on avoiding sexual and physical health risks. There needs to be a robust curriculum on mental health, so that students can understand and take actionable steps to improve their own mental health and have an understanding of the mental health of people around them.

ED STATES EQUIRE A URRICULUM Eating Disorder Education It is vital for students to learn about eating disorders since they can lead to various mental and physical complications, many of them deadly. Unfortunately, 4% of teenagers, aged 13 to 18, suffer from them. Education surrounding eating disorders needs to be destigmatized so that students and teachers can learn to spot and support someone with an eating disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, an eating disorder is “an illness in which the people experience severe disturbances in the eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions”. There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia and bulimia are disorders in which patients tend to have low self-

esteem, feel “fat”, and are critical of their body. People with anorexia and bulimia have an intense fear of gaining weight and will do anything to make sure they don’t, even starving themselves to the point of malnourishment. People with binge eating disorders overeat and don’t feel in control of themselves during the binge. Education on eating disorders should not be shied away from, and teachers should encourage their students to be vigilant of their peers' eating habits as well. It would be helpful if students were taught common “red flags” of eating disorders (ie. refusing to eat lunch, obsessive eating, counting calories, or saying negative things about their body image), so that they can easily spot these symptoms in their peers, check in with them, and direct them to resources if they need help. Students also need to be taught about the ability of recovering from an eating disorder and building a healthy relationship with food, as there are misconceptions about getting treatment for eating disorders. By

teaching with empathy about eating disorders and encouraging recovery, eating disorders will become destigmatized and romanticized.

Depression It is extremely important for depression to be addressed in the mental health curriculum. Depression is quite common, with 13% of US teens experiencing a major depressive episode in 2017, according to a SAMHSA survey. Patients with depression are more at risk for suicide, which is the second leading cause of death for teens in the US, with 5,079 passing away each year. A part of the high numbers of suicide deaths, are the misconceptions about mood disorders, like depression. Patients with depression can go through periods of sadness, or a low mood, for months, and sometimes years. People with depression may additionally experience a change of appetite, hypersomnia and insomnia, inability to concentrate, or suicidal ideation. Major depression is considered â&#x20AC;&#x153;classic depressionâ&#x20AC;? and is characterized by sadness. Persistent depression is like major depression, but lasts 2 years or more. Bipolar disorders have interspersed depressive episodes and manic episodes. People that are diagnosed and treated with depression use a combination of medication and

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therapies to control the symptoms. Education on depression and bipolar disorder should educate on the symptoms of these disorders and the warning signs of suicide ideation. Teachers should also discuss with students the importance of reaching out to a support system, when having persistent low mood or energy. They should also help all students learn coping skills for managing extreme emotions, which can help all teens, not just those diagnosed with a depressive disorder. Schools should make it a point to teach kids about depression, eating disorders, and anxiety, because the sooner a mood disorder is identified, the easier it can be managed. Schools should also normalize seeking and facilitating mental health resources, such as therapy, psychiatry, and support groups, to actively recognize the importance of studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mental health. Neve Walker, Abigail Romero, Ciara Balanza Kavya Gurunath, Sahithi Lingampalli Inchara J. Evelyn Chen

Black Lives Matter

n May 25, 2020, an African American man, George Floyd, was pronounced dead after an officer kneeled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on his neck, preventing him from breathing. Nearby sources claim that he was paying at a store with a 20 dollar counterfeit bill. Soon enough, cops arrived at the scene where he was taken into custody and handcuffed. He was on the ground, when a white police officer put his knee on his neck long enough to kill him in broad daylight. Floyd explicitly told the officer “I can’t breathe” but the policeman continued, eventually killing Floyd in the middle of Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis. The news quickly picked up on the headlines and The United States already on edge— thanks to the pandemic— was now outraged. The next day, tens of thousands of people protested, fighting against the violence and institutional racism that has plagued the African American community. Although Floyd’s life tragically came to an end, there have been many incidents similar to his. Another fatal death occurred on

BY NIVI C

March 13 at 12:30 am, when an African American woman, Breonna Taylor, was shot by police officers with 6 bullets. In Louisville, Kentucky, her apartment was to be searched for drug dealing. Inside her house, her boyfriend and Taylor misunderstood the police officers as intruders. To defend themselves, her boyfriend fired one bullet and in return, the police officers shot 32 rounds. Luckily, her boyfriend was not harmed, but sadly Taylor was fatally killed. At the end of the day, the premises were never searched for any

Blue Lives

CHOZHAN

Matter

drugs either. The worst part? The officers that senselessly killed the Black medical worker were never punished for their detrimental actions. One former Louisville officer was charged for endangerment of the neighbors but none of the other officers had serious consequences, sparking protests all around the nation. Adding fuel to the fire, officers have tear-gassed and hurt many peaceful protestors. Defensively, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, the Blue Lives Matter

movement also began. The Blue Lives Matter movement advocates that “those who are prosecuted and convicted of killing law enforcement officers should be sentenced under hate crime statutes.” Every morning in American schools, students are taught to say the Pledge of Allegiance. One of the most important and relevant lyrics is “Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. It is incorrect to say these powerful words every morning— indicating that the nation is a united front —but act a different way. But when does police brutality stop? What exactly is the problem? Since the beginning of America, Black men and women have been discriminated against. They have been treated as second class citizens for a characteristic they cannot control. A little girl once asked a police officer, “Are you going to shoot us?” Why are Black people treated differently from white people? We are all human, aren’t we? So it should never be okay to disrespect someone, let alone kill them for the color of their skin. Although these instances indicate

that some cops are wicked and their morals are questionable, there are many police officers making society a better and safer environment. Most of those cops are not recognized enough and instead categorized all law enforcement officers are considered terrible. People wish to defund the police, but in reality, that will not make the situation better. These adults are the people we kids look up to every day. If everyone is constantly fighting and never in agreement, the nation will only become more divided. Future generations are depending on adults and are learning from them daily. With more and more people fighting against each other, this nation is only put into further trouble. Terrifying stories of countless people, such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many more will continue to echo in our minds, for us to remember forever.

edited by Cindy Zhang, Kavya Gurunath, Manushri Bapat

Art By Sahithi Lingampalli

layout by Claire Sakurauchi

references do you support fourth wave feminism? why or why not? PayScale. (2020). The State of the Gender Pay Gap 2020. PayScale. Retrieved from: https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-paygap#:~:text=The%20State%20of%20the%20Gender%20Pay%20Gap%20in,81%20CENTS%20FOR%20EVERY%20DOLLAR%20EAR NED%20BY%20MEN

blm vs blue lives matter

Ater, R. (May 29, 2020). list of unarmed black people killed by police — On Monuments. Renée Ater. Retrieved from: https://www.reneeater.com/on-monuments-blog/tag/list+of+unarmed+black+people+killed+by+police Cullors, P. (June 23, 2020). 'Black Lives Matter' is About More than the Police. American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/black-lives-matter-is-about-more-than-the-police/ Black Lives Matter. (2020). Herstory. Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from: https://blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/ Oppel, R. A. (October 2, 2020). Breonna Taylor’s Case and Death: What We Know. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html Read, B. (September 29, 2020). What We Know About the Killing of Breonna Taylor. The Cut. Retrieved from: https://www.thecut.com/2020/09/breonna-taylor-louisville-shooting-police-what-we-know.html Vaughn-Hall, J. Y. D. R. (September 24, 2020). From a cop’s daughter: Saying ‘Blue lives matter’ doesn’t honor police. It divides all of us. York Daily Record. Retrieved from: https://eu.ydr.com/story/news/2020/09/21/blue-lives-matter-defensive-response-black-livesmatter/5802555002/ Wikipedia contributors. (October 12, 2020a). Blue Lives Matter. Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lives_Matter Wikipedia contributors. (October 14, 2020b). Shooting of Breonna Taylor. Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Breonna_Taylor

each mind: curriculum for mental health education in schools

Child Mind Institute. (2020) Speak Up For Kids Mental Health Report. Child Mind Institute. Retrieved from: https://childmind.org/ Vestal, C. (June 23, 2018). States Begin Requiring Mental Health Education in Schools. National Alliance on Mental Illness Virginia. Retrieved from: https://namivirginia.org/states-begin-requiring-mental-health-education-schools/ Haines, S. (July 19, 2017) Some Truths about School-Based Eating Disorder Prevention. Walden Behavioral Care. Retrieved from: https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.com/blog/some-truths-about-school-based-eating-disorder-prevention/

g4m3 p14n35 by Maya Krolik | Layout by Sahithi Lingampalli

cr055w0rd Use the clues below to fill out the cr055w0rd puzzle! Answers for the puzzle can be found throughout the magazine in the corresponding article!

ACross

DOWN

2. Approved set of classes from schools, a recent push to include mental health 3. S in ASD 8. Dream ___ “involves directing one’s dream content through bedtime selfsuggestions” 9. A city in Canada as well as a delicious style of bagel11. zeroemmision 15. A country in the South Caucasses currently engaged in war with Armenia 17. A movement that is currently in its “fourth wave” 18. Womens ____, a movement of the late 20th early 19th centuries 19. Last name of a female victim to Police Brutality who’s death further fanned the flames of BLM 20. The scarring of lung tissue 21. National ____ Gallery, where the paintings of first ladies have recently come on display

1. Technology used in Bitcoin transactions 4. A response other than fighting back 5. __ Lives Matter, opposition to the BLM 6. Digital or Carbon one of these 7. ___ of art, a critic of sorts 10. The last name of the late Supreme Court Justice 12. A miniature winturbine model as developed in Beijing 13. The measure of how much work you have done and distractions avoided (especially in a school setting) 14. A medicinal drug that aids millions of diabetics 15. __ 2020 SO, a new celestial neighbor 16. Something deemed to be soothing to the eyes, changes over time

1. Blockchain 4. flight 5. Blue 6. Footprint 7. Philosopher 10. Ginsburg 12. B-TENG 13. Productivity 14. Insulin 15. Asteroid 16. Aesthetic

3. Spectrum 8. incubation 9. Montréal 11. ZEROe 15. Azerbaijan 17. Feminism 18. Suffrage 19. Taylor 20. Pneumonia 21. Portrait

Down:

Answers! Across:

2. Curriculum

We are Youth For Juvenile Justice Reform, an organization myself and six peers have created through the SFI internship program at The University of San Diego. With little guidance, the organization run by youths was able to independently create something sustainable that would make a positive difference in the community.

YOUTH FOR

We produced an informational video series in which we interviewed previously incarcerated individuals who turned their life around for the better and elongated upon their success stories. We did this in hopes of diminishing negative stereotypes and stigmas affiliated with incarcerated individuals and shed light upon the true horrors of the broken justice system. This is a continuous movement in which we frequently produce content for our media outlets.

My name is Sophia Gawle and I am the Co-Marketing Manager partnered with Lea. We are all founders and equal contributors to this club. Our other members are Arshvi, Anusha, Kaseba, Lucas, and Valeria.

Contact: ssophiagawlee@gmail.com Sophia Gawle Co-Marketing Manager

Instagram: @youthforjjreform

R JUVENILE

Layout by Sahithi Lingampalli

thank you for reading! if you liked what you read, consider supporting us on Instagram @theaffairmag, or join our team! http://theaffairmag.typeform.com/to/Frldsr

October 2020

Articles inside

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

Why the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict isn't Just About Them

How Four Women Related to UC Berkeley Changed California's Politics

Breonna Taylor Decision

The Supreme Court Nomination Process

A First Lady's Shining Moment!

What is the Philosophy of Art?

October 2020